What's going on at Watson Island?
Organisers of the Yacht and Brokerage Show in Miami Beach announced earlier this year that Island Gardens Marina on Watson Island will be the future host to ‘Superyacht Miami'. The lease of the land to Flagstone Property Group has been controversial, as previous deadlines for work to start have come and gone with no progress, but local reports state that work on the development has finally begun.…
Organisers of the Yacht and Brokerage Show in Miami Beach announced earlier this year that Island Gardens Marina will be the future host to ‘Superyacht Miami’, a showcase of superyachts more than 45m in length, at the annual yacht and brokerage show.
The Island Gardens development is located on Watson Island, an 86-acre island between downtown Miami and Miami Beach, and is to include a five-star luxury hotel, a four-star lifestyle hotel, fractional ownership residences, high-end retail and waterfront dining set on 6.5 acres of publicly accessible and landscaped open space, in addition to the marina.
The lease of the land on city-owned Watson Island to Flagstone Property Group has been controversial, as previous deadlines for work to start have come and gone with no progress, but local reports state that representatives of the Island Gardens project have revealed that work on the project has finally begun. “Flagstone has met their June deadline and the mitigation has started,” says Bahar Bayraktar, director of communications and branding for Flagstone's Island Gardens.
Set to be completed in autumn 2017, the Island Gardens Deep Harbour Marina will be able to accommodate 35 to 75 yachts within a range of 24m to 146m, the largest collection of slips for yachts of this size in South Florida. The marina will also feature floating piers for day boats and will be home to a fleet of water taxis linking Island Gardens to the harbour between South Beach and downtown Miami.
The Island Gardens development is located on Watson Island, an 86-acre island between downtown Miami and Miami Beach, and is to include a five-star luxury hotel, a four-star lifestyle hotel, fractional ownership residences, high-end retail and waterfront dining set on 6.5 acres of publicly accessible and landscaped open space, in addition to the marina.
The lease of the land on city-owned Watson Island to Flagstone Property Group has been controversial, as previous deadlines for work to start have come and gone with no progress, but local reports state that representatives of the Island Gardens project have revealed that work on the project has finally begun. “Flagstone has met their June deadline and the mitigation has started,” says Bahar Bayraktar, director of communications and branding for Flagstone's Island Gardens.
Yacht and Brokerage Show in Miami Beach 2013. Credit: Forest Johnson
“Island Gardens is a world-class development and, when it’s completed as planned, it will have one of the only marinas in North America designed specifically for superyachts,” says Efrem ‘Skip’ Zimbalist III, CEO of Show Management, the company that co-owns and organises the show. “We’ve received a tremendous amount of positive feedback at this year’s show about the launch of Superyacht Miami, and it’s all about adding a new and exciting category of yachts to the show.”Set to be completed in autumn 2017, the Island Gardens Deep Harbour Marina will be able to accommodate 35 to 75 yachts within a range of 24m to 146m, the largest collection of slips for yachts of this size in South Florida. The marina will also feature floating piers for day boats and will be home to a fleet of water taxis linking Island Gardens to the harbour between South Beach and downtown Miami.
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